Hot Wheels Stunt Track Challenge (2015 video game)
Hot Wheels Stunt Track Challenge is a racing/stunt performing arcade video game developed by McDonalds Interactive and Starbreeze Studios and published by Square Enix. The game is a reboot of the 2004 video game of the same name published by THQ. It was released in November 2015 on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Wii U. Development started in 2005 after McDonalds Interactive was founded, but suffered development troubles and as a result, the game was put on hold. After THQ was shut down in 2013, the company approached Square Enix as the new publisher. The company contacted Starbreeze Studios to provide assistances. McDonalds and Starbreeze employed veteran actors Pete L. J. Dickson, Mariah Milano, and James Marsden as the hosts in the game's game show mode. The game received positive reviews from critics who praised the graphics, custom design, online multiplayer, and Dickson, Milano, and Marsden's hosting, but the game's modes were criticized. Stunt Track Challenge was a commercial success, selling 16 million copies worldwide, and received numerous awards and nominations from various gaming publications, including the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences and British Academy Games Awards. Gameplay Stunt Track Challenge is a stuntman game show that consists of drivers competing in Mini game style stunt challenges and winning fast races to stay on the show. Races take place on one of 13 tracks and players compete to finish first. The game's 25 stunt challenges reward players for performing daring deeds by using the controller. Game Show Game Show returns from Stunt Track Challenge (2004). Pete L. J. Dickson, Mariah Milano, and James Marsden are the hosts, replacing Ryan Storm who was the previous host from Stunt Track Challenge (2004). There are 7 stages instead of 6 from the previous game. Drivers Cars ;Notes *a: Available in both Game Show and Multiplayer *b: Downloadable Content only Multiplayer The game features an online multiplayer. It holds up to 40-player races and challenges on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Development The original Hot Wheels: Stunt Track Challenge was developed by Climax Racing and published by THQ and released on PC PlayStation 2, and Xbox in November 2004. McDonalds Interactive was founded in March 2005 after Stunt Track Challenge was released. The company quickly fell in love with the game and wanted to make a Stunt Track Challenge 2. After completing McDonalds Basketball '07, the team returned their attention on developing another Stunt Track Challenge. However, many issues occurred, and the game was put aside again. Development resumed in 2011 after the release of Matchbox: World Grand Prix. THQ was set up to publish the title, however, on November 13, 2012, THQ reported that they had defaulted on a $50 million loan from Wells Fargo and were on the verge of bankruptcy. With its stock price plummeting from early November values bordering on $3 down to $1.16 and with long-term liabilities of $250 million, THQ was forced to delay the release dates of its flagship titles Company of Heroes 2 and Metro: Last Light to March 2013. On December 19, 2012, THQ filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy with the intention of selling THQ and all of its assets to Clearlake Capital Group with Centerview Partners handling the sale. Skip Paul, a former colleague of Jason Rubin, helped orchestrate the proposed stalking horse bid from Clearlake Capital Group. However, the bid was ultimately denied by Judge Mary F. Walrath and creditors instead approved an individual auction of THQ's properties, which went ahead on January 22, 2013. At the auction, the ''Homefront franchise was acquired by Crytek (and was later acquired by Koch Media), Relic Entertainment and the video game rights to the Warhammer 40,000 series were sold to Sega, and the publishing rights to Turtle Rock Studios' Evolve and the WWE series were acquired by Take-Two Interactive. Ubisoft acquired THQ Montreal and the publishing rights to South Park: The Stick of Truth while the publishing rights to the Metro franchise and Volition, Inc. were acquired by Koch Media. Vigil Games and THQ's publishing unit were still included in the Chapter 11 case, although all employees related to these entities were laid off. In a posting on Twitter on January 23, Platinum Games' producer Atsushi Inaba expressed interest in acquiring the Darksiders franchise from THQ. On February 26, THQ announced that it would sell off its remaining properties – the Darksiders, Homeworld, Red Faction, and Destroy All Humans! franchises, as well as its licensed and original properties – in a court-approved auction which would be held from April 1 to 15, with the process completed by May. All of THQ's remaining franchises, including the remainder of its original IPs (aside from Homeworld, which was acquired by Gearbox Software, and Drawn to Life, acquired by 505 Games) and licensed software, were auctioned to Nordic Games in April 2013. Creditors initially said the proposed sale of THQ in bankruptcy court benefited current THQ management, including Rubin. Early creditor objections and court documents criticized THQ management. Presiding Judge Walwrath called these criticisms a "conspiracy theory" on record.In Re: THQ, Inc., et al., Case No. 12-13398-MFW (Bankr. Ct., D. Del.), Transcript of Hearing on January 4, 2013 (pp. 238-239); lines 24-2. A copy may be viewed at the Office of the Clerk, District of Delaware Bankruptcy Court, or by contacting Transcriber Reliable at 302-654-8080. Creditors ultimately released THQ management, including Rubin, of any malfeasance in the company's official plan of liquidation. The liquidation of THQ also had an effect on other studios; British developer Blitz Games Studios shut down in September 2013, citing financial difficulties. The company's CEO Philip Oliver said that the demise of THQ, who was a major client for the studio, was one of the major contributing factors to the closure. Following THQ's demise, McDonalds Interactive later approached Square Enix as the new publisher. Square Enix then said "Yes" after McDonalds presented the concept of the game. The following day, Square Enix approached The Apex Team who were also developing another Hot Wheels game titled Hot Wheels World Race: Apex and asked if they could be the publisher. The Apex Team had to think about it for a while. McDonalds Interactive called in Starbreeze Studios to provide assistances in development. Starbreeze had finished development of Payday 2 and jumped the gun to join the game's development. Stunt Track Challenge uses the Havok Physics Engine. McDonalds and Starbreeze employed veteran actors Pete L. J. Dickson, Mariah Milano, and James Marsden to lend their voices as the hosts in the game's game show mode. Marketing Hot Wheels World Race: Apex and Hot Wheels Stunt Track Challenge were both announced in November 2013 by Square Enix as "2000s classics return". A teaser for Stunt Track Challenge was inserted in PS4 and Xbox One retail copies of Tomb Raider (2013). Another was inserted in retail copies of World Race: Apex. The game was fully presented at E3 2014 with a full poster. Gameplay footage was shown at E3 2015. It featured SpongeBob SquarePants racing against Pikachu, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Mario on the Pirate's Cove map. Release A demo was released on July 11, 2015. It featured the map Industrial Park. The full game was released on November 10, 2015 in North America, and November 12 worldwide. Downloadable Content At E3 2015, during Sony's press conference, McDonalds Interactive announced that PlayStation 4 users would get early access to downloadable content (DLC). On November 24, 2015, PlayStation 4 users had early access to the "Caves & Cliffs" map pack. The map pack consists of three new Hot Wheels multiplayer maps, entitled "Tribe Caverns", "Cliffy Stall Villiage" and "Burning Town". The pack later became available for Xbox Live and Steam users, on December 2, 2015. The second DLC pack, "Own the Cities", was released on January 28, 2016. It features the Krazy 8s, Ferrari F430 Spider, Rat-ified, Reverb and Power Bomb cars. It also includes Dominic Santiago from Gears of War, Cortana from Halo, and Falco Lombardi from Star Fox. Reception Critical response | GameZone = (PC) 7.3/10 (Xbox) 7/10 (PS4) 8.9/10 | IGN = 8.5/10 | OPM = | OXMUK = 5/10 | Play = 9/10 | VG = 7/10 | rev1 = Digital Spy | rev1Score = | rev2 = The Guardian | rev2Score = }} Hot Wheels Stunt Track Challenge received positive reviews. The game's modes were criticzed. GameRankings, Metacritic and Orange Drink.com gave it 81.10%, 75 out of 100 and 82% for the PC version; 82.64%, 74 out of 100 and 81% for the PlayStation 4 version; 79.66%, 71 out of 100 and 76% for the Xbox One version; and 67.45%, 65 out of 100, and 69% for the Wii U version. Dan Ryckert of Giant Bomb gave Stunt Track Challenge 3/5 stars, praising the game for capturing the fast paste fun of Hot Wheels, but complained of the game's lack of content on release. Game Informer's Matt Miller noted that the game's multi-crossover appearance of famous television and video game series characters make the game completely unprofessional due to their genres being aimed at different audiences and gamers. Ryan Taljonick of GamesRadar lauded the location's setting and environment, and expressed that "not one area ever feels like a rehash of another". Taljonick also felt that the game had great pacing, and that it is "unrivaled by any other game in the genre". Peter Eykemans from IGN gave the game 8.5 out of 10 and called it "a multi-crossover fun for fans of any Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo". Leon Hurley of GamesRadar had a positive impression of Stunt Track Challenge 's ability to choose any vehicle and driver for the game modes and awarded it 4/5 stars. Reviewers praised the game's graphical quality. Gerstmann said the use of lighting added a unique style to the game. He also liked the depiction of the two major areas of the game, and the game's sounds, which he said suited the tone of the game. Dickson, Milano, and Marsden were praised for their hosting in the game's "Game Show" mode. Jeff Gerstmann from Giant Bomb noted that Dickson delivered a more calm performance than Milano and Marsden. In contrast, Martin Gaston from VideoGamer.com said he was disappointed with the game modes and considered them one of the game's biggest flaws. The multiplayer received acclaimed. Gaston said it was "Fast & Furious and Need for Speed having lunch together". Dan Whitehead from Eurogamer compared it more favourably compared to Need for Speed 's always online connection. Epic Games founders Tim Sweeney and Mark Rein found the game uninspiring while praising Gears of War protagonist Marcus Fenix's playable appearance and the appearance of the COG Trike. Design director Cliff Bleszinski agreed with Sweeney and Rein saying "While Hot Wheels may not please the people over at Epic Games, it does give them motivation to include the Trike in future Gears". SpongeBob SquarePants series creator Stephen Hillenburg was impressed by the appearance of his characters and expressed interest in a crossover between SpongeBob and Fairly OddParents in the future. The Fairly OddParents creator Butch Hartman agreed with Hillenburg on the subject and called Stunt Track Challenge, "an influence in the crossover industry". Sales Phil Rogers, CEO of Square Enix Europe, and President and CEO of Square Enix, Inc. said that Stunt Track Challenge earned the fastest amount of pre-orders of 2.6 million within 12 hours before launch. Hot Wheels Stunt Track Challenge debuted at No.1 in the UK for retail non-digital sales according to Chart-Track in its first week of release, and became the fourth fastest-selling title released in 2015. It was also the fastest-selling online PlayStation 4 video game, breaking the record previously held by Destiny, until Star Wars Battlefront. The game's retail version was the fifth best selling game in US behind Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Fallout 4, Star Wars Battlefront, and Madden NFL 16. On March 6, 2016, Square Enix announced that the game had sold more than 5 million copies and grossed $375 million in February 2016. As of May 2016, the game had sold 16 million units worldwide. Awards |} References Category:Hot Wheels Category:McDonalds Interactive Games Category:Starbreeze Studios Games Category:Square Enix Category:Microsoft Windows Games Category:PlayStation 4 Games Category:Xbox One Games Category:Wii U Games Category:Reboots Category:2015 Category:Racing Games Category:"E 10+" Rated